This is the beer that started it all for me two years ago. Had it on tap at Brasserie V (Madison), and opened a door I didn't know existed. I'd always thought I was a lager guy -- doppelbocks were as serious I got about beer at the time, that and black-and-tans. The Abt 12 broke it all wide open. Now I know I"m a malt guy. Love the Belgians. Love the barley wines and old ales. Love the imperial stouts. Sours, too, though.

You can read a lot about what the “Abt” means, most of it wrong, not that it really matters. This is a beer that warms the cockles of the heart. Maybe, as Denis Leary suggests, below the cockles, maybe in the sub-cockle area. Maybe in the liver (10% ABV, yes please). Maybe in the kidneys (eh). Maybe even in the colon (let’s hope not), we don’t know.

STYLE: Belgian Quad

ABV: 10%

LOOK: Woody brown, with a creamy, stately head that looks like someone whipped up some cinnamon crema and dolloped it right on top. Above average lacing, but the retention is softer than expected. Massive, three-finger head. Maybe a product of the glassware? It quickly overwhelmed my pink-elephant tulip hybrid, suggesting that I should have gone with a more traditional, wide-mouth goblet.